The New Orleans Pelicans’ 2024-25 NBA season continues to be a challenging one. The silver lining? March Madness is here to offer a brief escape for Pelicans fans who also follow college basketball.

For those still closely watching the team, it hasn’t been an easy ride. In their most recent game, the Pelicans were crushed by the Detroit Pistons, 127-81. A year ago, Detroit was at the bottom of the Eastern Conference, while the Pelicans were preparing for a playoff push. Now, the roles have reversed, serving as a harsh reminder of the franchise’s struggles since trading away Anthony Davis in hopes of building around Zion Williamson, another generational talent.

What’s truly disheartening for the New Orleans Pelicans is that, despite getting completely demolished by the Detroit Pistons, 127-81, the real heartbreak came from the loss of Trey Murphy III. Murphy, who had been one of the few bright spots in an otherwise disappointing season, suffered a serious injury in what turned out to be a meaningless blowout game. The Pelicans’ struggles this season had already made their playoff hopes unlikely, but Murphy’s injury adds another painful chapter to a season filled with setbacks.

The Pelicans were utterly dominated by the Pistons, with only Zion Williamson managing to put up respectable numbers, finishing with 30 points, six rebounds, four assists, and two blocks on 50% shooting. The rest of the team, however, had nights to forget. Jordan Hawkins struggled mightily, scoring just six points on 2-11 shooting and finishing with a game-low -42 in 28 minutes. Even worse was CJ McCollum, who shot a dismal 1-15, scoring only three points, leading to a true shooting percentage of just 8.7%.

However, as bad as those individual performances were, the real blow came when Murphy went down early in the game with an injury. It was later revealed that he had torn his labrum and would miss the rest of the season. This injury is especially painful for the Pelicans, who had already seen their playoff hopes dashed weeks earlier due to a series of injuries to key players. This latest setback, however, feels like the final straw for a franchise that seems cursed by the basketball gods.

Murphy’s injury raises the question of the ethics of tanking in a lost season. While fans want to see their players give their best effort, it’s hard to fault a franchise for holding out key players in a game that essentially has no impact on their season. With a torn labrum, Murphy’s recovery timeline is expected to be about 20 weeks, meaning he should be ready for next season’s training camp. However, this injury robs him of valuable offseason time that could have been used to improve his game.

While other teams, like the Toronto Raptors and Philadelphia 76ers, face criticism for resting key players in winnable games, the Pelicans’ situation is different. Their struggles are a result of real injuries and a lack of overall competence. And now, the news of Murphy’s injury has hit them hard, leaving many to wonder if this franchise is simply cursed. If the Pelicans are to have any chance of lifting this curse, they’ll need to regroup in the offseason and hope for a better, healthier season next year.